Trains, Planes, and Cars– Oh My!

The day has finally come: my baby turns three years old. We honored the occasion by transitioning his nursery to a big boys’ room– minus the big boy bed since no one is ready for him to give up his crib. His life revolves around cars, trains, planes, and boats… so, that’s what we gave him. For a design style, I gravitate towards sophisticated kids’ room ideas but also feel a child’s room should be calm, warm and friendly. Sometimes boys’ rooms tend to be an explosion of toys, so building in organization while leaving room for play was extremely important for me. From the chalkboard road on the wall to adaptable seating with plenty of books and play space, this transportation and Cars themed boys’ room screams my son’s name almost as loudly as he does. 😉

I drew a center line and my son insisted on adding orange cones. That’s what makes this Disney chalkboard paint so great– we can change up the scene on a whim.

In fact, he wanted some of it to become train tracks so that’s what he did. Kinda. Perhaps engineering design is not in his future.

This ottoman with plain slipcover was only $10 at Walmart. A BLANK SLATE! What to do with it?!

There are so many possibilities for it I wasn’t sure where to start, so for now it cozily sits in the reading corner holding his favorite book. I have a paralyzing perfectionism problem, if only I could make up my mind and just TRY something!

Vintage blocks perched on a bookcase spell out a word that fully describes my son.

He snuggles under a twin sized Toy Story comforter every night, but under it we have a roadway trimmed pillow and a coverlet with cars in various bold and happy colors.

A few more vintage touches. Can you believe this lantern came from my husband’s grandmother? Gorgeous!

A favorite pal waits to snuggle.

We keep the chalk for the roadway and some of his Cars handy in a personalized carrier I made from foam board.

This Cars nightlight turns on automatically at night to keep bad dreams away.

What’s a room reveal without a party? We invited a few friends over to help us celebrate. While grabbing some Toy Story party supplies, I picked up a few plain wooden frames and painted them with the leftover Disney Great Slate paint. After letting them cure, I simply tied up a box of chalk with some twine and we had DIY chalkboard frames to scribble on as party favors!

The kids went on a treasure hunt for fun Toy Story prizes, and then tested out the chalkboard roadway. Can’t imagine why the pictures are so blurry (ever try to photograph kids running for prizes while having permission to write on the wall?!) 😉 The kids loved the roadway and being allowed to write on it, and the moms agreed there were so many creative ideas out there for using tintable chalkboard paint! The paint was incredibly easy to use, I certainly recommend it to other moms (and for sure would use it for future projects, too).

Needless to say, the chalkboard road was the biggest hit of the night.

As for my son, I can hear his ‘vrooms’ right now as he drives his cars on the wall. I think he truly loves having a space to call his own, with just him in mind.

It’s amazing how adding a little paint, changing a few accessories, and rearranging a bit can breathe new life into a space. I’m a huge fan of mini-makeovers such as this one because of the huge impact it can have. Sure, someday {soon} the big boy bed will be squeezed into this room and he’ll outgrow that tiny chair. Until then, I’m holding onto all the things that make having a little boy so special. Now, who’s going to hold ME as I say goodbye to being a toddler mom and hello to this whole new world of having a big boy?!

Disclaimer: Compensation and products for review were provided by Glidden via MomTrends. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of opinions of Glidden.

Meet Carrie Higgins

Dreamer, thinker, + lemon squeezer; you'll usually find me clutching a mug of coffee, glue gun, fandeck of paint colors, and a child at any given time. This mom of two (and wife to one) loves to share freshly squeezed ideas for home and family. Join the adventure as we learn most lemons can indeed become lemonade-- with generous amounts of sweetness, perspective, and love.

Love everything about this room!! Love the colors, love the theme, love the chalkboard road! What kid wouldn’t want permission to draw on parts of the walls!? Great use of extra pain by the way for the party. I will remember that one!

Well that is a gorgeous crib, I wouldn’t want to get rid of it either! Good grief you’re talented. And neat. The only reason my kids’ bedrooms are as clean as they are (and I use the term loosely) is that we have a playroom for the toys, which looks like a tornado hit it, lol! May you never find out what this is like as they grow (and get messy)! Beautiful work on the road, love it.

Thanks Gina! And I’ll definitely admit most of the toys are in our incredibly messy playroom. My son’s trains take up half that room, we’re constantly stepping around tracks. I’m scared for the day he moves on to Legos, whew. Thanks again for your super sweet words!

Carrie- what an awesome room for a lucky little boy. I have a CARS obsessed little guy who LOVE to live in this room. thanks for sharing — great meeting you the other night at West ELm in KOP. Love your blog!!

Stephanie, it was great meeting you too! I had a hard time not buying everything at West Elm, I definitely think it’s going to be my future stomping grounds. Sounds like our boys have a lot in common–Cars all the way! 😉

When I first retired in ’85, I took embroidery hoops, placed a sheet of canvas in hoop, and did paintings on them. It was real fun but I think my 2nd oldest son has laid claim to them so I can’t show you what I did!

Hey there, welcome! I'm Carrie-- a dreamer, overthinker, + lemon squeezer, making it my mission to share fresh ideas for home and family. You'll usually find me clutching a mug of coffee, glue gun, fandeck of paint colors, and a child at any given time. Join the adventure as we learn most lemons can indeed become lemonade-- with generous amounts of sweetness, perspective, and love.